A writer’s blog is nothing if not a way to hold myself accountable. Here’s the progress I’ve made on my main writing projects, as of October 1st, 2013. Starter Guide for Professional Writers–I’m just past halfway through the second draft, which is already 20,000 words longer than the first. In hindsight the first draft was…
Category: Writing
Print-on-Demand Formatting for Better Royalties
CreateSpace is one of the most popular POD (print-on-demand) choices for self-publishing authors and small presses. Each time a book is ordered through Amazon or another retailer, CreateSpace prints the book and ships it. Each month, CreateSpace sends the author accrued royalties, after it takes its printing and distribution costs. The author doesn’t need to…
Anatomy of Successful Crowdfunding (or, How I made 700% of my Kickstarter goal despite a godawful cover image)
What makes a successful crowdfunding project? Any number of things, I’m sure. That’s the good news. A campaign doesn’t need to be 100% successful on all fronts to make its funding goal, it just needs to do enough things well enough. But a lot rides on certain key choices you make for your campaign. In…
Reward in Daily Science Fiction’s Kickstarter! Also, Newsletters.
Daily Science Fiction is hosting a Kickstarter Campaign to pay authors for their short fiction published for the next six months, September 2013-March 2014. Among rewards including omnibus anthologies, gourmet chocolate, and a crocheted Cthulhu, you can also sign up for a critique from Yours Truly of a short story (they say up to 5,000…
Blogging from the Writer’s Staycation
After my work with Zahara proved so rewarding last semester, I’ve continued as her assistant over this summer. This means I’ve been able to attend not only one but two Staycations–and this time as an apprentice Fellow, which means this Friday I’ll be an opening and lunchtime speaker. It also means that, with four weekdays…
List: Everything That Can Go Wrong (a Mix-n-Match Adventure)
Storytelling is problem solving–to have a plot, you need a problem for your characters to confront. Then the plot needs a reason behind it, and you have to make clear what’s at stake if the problem isn’t solved, while having some idea how your characters are going to solve it. Over the weekend I started…
Blogging from the Home Office
It’s very nice to have a room of one’s own, even if that room is really just 185 square feet serving as bedroom, office, and kitchen all at once. I’m not sure how productive I’ve been, but I feel productive because I’m sitting down at the computer at least once an hour to type, revise,…
WisCon 37–A Partial Review
I was certain I wouldn’t make it to WisCon this year, coming as it did right before my moving trip to Washington, D.C. But with some last-minute crunch and a willingness to run around disoriented (I’ve learned these will get you far in life, or at least lead me very far afield), I made it for…
IndieGoGo Campaign for Self-Publishing a Book on Publishing
Long story short, I’m living off what I earn through my writing right now. This isn’t so bad, except writing income tends to arrive over the course of months, and is less than helpful when you need money right away. So to meet some expenses in the meantime, I’m hiring myself out as a manuscript…
Promoting Your Writing: Now is the Time to Keep the Faith
In the story, that is, although it’s completely understandable if you’d rather kneel through a litany of novenas or light candles on the altar of the deity of your choice in hope of landing on the Times Bestseller list. You can’t effectively promote a story you don’t believe in. This is the most important thing…